ATLANTA (AP) A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled certain non-profit organizations in Georgia affiliated with the Catholic Church are not subject to a contraception mandate included in the president's health care law.

The law exempts Catholic dioceses and archdioceses from the mandate, but not affiliated organizations such as schools, charities and hospitals.

U.S. District Judge William Duffey ruled Wednesday that the federal government cannot enforce the mandate against Catholic Education of North Georgia, Inc., which operates five Catholic schools, and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Inc.

The Catholic organizations said the mandate would require them to pay for and refer women to get abortion drugs and contraception, which they say is prohibited by their religious beliefs.

A lawyer for the government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

House Republican leaders rallied around one of their own, Whip Steve Scalise, on Tuesday after he said he regrets speaking 12 years ago to a white supremacist organization and condemns the views of such groups.

President Vladimir Putin's chief political foe was convicted along with his brother on Tuesday in a fraud case widely seen as a vendetta by the Kremlin, triggering one of Russia's boldest anti-government demonstrations in years.

The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners (BOC) recently signed a Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), five years after an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) audit of county facilities.